The Stela of the ‘Master-Sculptor’ Shen-Setji: A Review 635 636
usually related to the career and relative self-praise of the stela or tomb own-
er. A close parallel to the phrases in the text of Shen-setji is to be found – as
Vernus already remarked28 – in the stela of Mery, Louvre C 3, but there they
are Mery’s direct speech29 after the section introduced by b�k.f m�� �d,30
which follows directly after the date and the royal titulary; the �tp�d�� �nswt
formula begins after his speech. Notwithstanding the differences, I prefer to
consider what is referred to in this paragraph as a fact, just as in Mery’s text,
not as a hope, and in my opinion this formulary, in this position, cannot be re-
lated to one of the units of the Abydos formula.
f
The two texts – Louvre C 3 and the Los Angeles stela - use some iden-
tical expressions to describe the place of work of an administrator and a
sculptor: �ntt m�rw r st nbt w�rt mn�t n�rw – Mery; w�rt mn�t n�rw �ntt m�rw
r st nbt – Shen-setji, not to mention the other similarities. In my opinion this
w�rt does not refer to a particular Abydene “district”, whose list was collected
by Vernus,31 but is an apposition for r��pr pn prw n�� wwt nt n�� (Shen-setji),
and, respectively, st nt n�� (Mery), in order to compose a sort of eulogy of
the sacred space. The two documents are therefore probably very near in
time.
g l
The peculiar writing, which Faulkner understood as “the duplicate of
the house of Anubis”, was correctly explained by Vernus,32 who considered
the pr-sign a determinative.
h
Faulkner’s translation: “Rec sheds the light of his countenance towards
it”. Obsomer 1995: 543, 545, reads s��.t, but I disagree with his reading. It
seems to me very clear the writing ps�.t, there can be no doubt about the
presence of the p-sign and it cannot be related of course to the previous ’Inpw
as a complement. So I read: ps�.t R� �r.f r.s, which I consider a relative form,
28 Loc.cit.
29 Translation by Vernus 1973: 217–218: «Je suis un serviteur obeisant, grand de caractère,
doux d’amour. Si grand était mon obeisance que mon maître m’envoya en mission afin de
diriger pour lui la construction d’une place d’éternité, plus grand de renom que R��st�w, su-
périeure en dispositions à toute autre place, district parfait des dieux. Ses murs, il déchi-
raient le ciel, le lac qui avait été creusé, il égalait le fleuve, les portes, qui transperçaient le
firmament, étaient en pierre blanche de Toura; Osiris-�nty��� mntyw se réjouissait des mo-
numents de mon maître. Moi-même, j’étais dans la joie, mon coeur étant dilaté à cause de ce
dont j’avais dirigé la construction».
30 Cfr. Lichtheim 1988: 48.
31 Vernus 1973: 224–225; Simpson 1974: 13; Lichtheim 1988: 88.
32 Vernus 1973: 231 n.6.
Gloria Rosati
and with a transitive use of ps�, though unknown before the Ptolemaic peri-
od.33
i
Lichtheim 1988: 91 and 92 n. 6 assumes that d�� .f m �n� is synonymous
of �tp.f m �n�, and so she translates “when he sets in life in the west”. I am as-
suming that d�� .f = �nk.f,34 see also Vernus 1973: 231.
j
The writing with the mr/m�� - signs for m- already commented upon by
Hamrawi 2002: 211; previously Berlev 1962: § 2. Discussion on this term, in
comparison with �� s, “tomb”: Simpson 1974: 10ss.; O’Connor 1985: 166;
Lichtheim 1988: 92. Lately, a very deep analysis has been presented by Ré-
gen 2006 (completed by Régen 2007), who points out (Régen 2006: 263–267)
that the term m���t seems to denote generally, or at least often, a superstruc-
ture, and seems complementary to �� s, and «mérite le sens de «cénotaphe» ou
de «mémorial» qu’on lui attribue généralement mais il serait réducteur de lui
assigner uniquement ce sens»: at least during the New Kingdom «(m)���t dé-
signe couramment l’ensemble architectural de la tombe privée».
k
The Terrace of the Great God is now generally located north of the
main Abydos temple, near the Ramesses II temple called ‘The Portal’: lately
O’Connor 2009: ch. 6.35
On this formula, Berlev 1962 with previous references. This dated stela
contributes to establishing dating criteria: e.g. that the formula is preceded by
�d.f, and a short text is inserted between it and the figures below, together
with the position of “who love life and hate death”, and the use of �pt, “de-
cease, passing away” as an euphemism for “death” (cfr. below, n. 36) are
considered peculiarities of the first period of the Middle Kingdom. Moreover,
instead of �d.�n “may you say”, to introduce the request, here �� w.�n r �d (and
before �� w.�n r rd�� t n(.�� )) is maintained. On the contrary a few palaeographic
marks which are more usual in a later period are attested here: e. g. the writ-
ing of the plural determinative with tpyw (-t�), and the writing of t�, typical
for the whole Middle Kingdom and until the New Kingdom as well, is the
first in time to be noted.
m
Hamrawi 2002: 212 records twice this group of signs with šms, to
show both an «Umstellung von Lautzeichen» and an «Umstellung von De-
33 Wb I 558,2, Gr. Vernus 1973:231 n. 7 shows the same opinion.
34 Wb III 117,14; I “assume” this possible reading because the arm-sign actually looks like D
37, instead of D 39.
35 Previous literature: Simpson 1974: 6–13; O’Connor 1985; a recent research on landscape,
ritual landscape and rituals at Abydos: Effland–Effland 2010.